Most accidents in India involve two wheels and majorly the reason for such accidents is rash riding. There are hundreds of accidents that happen daily and it is almost always the driver of the bigger vehicle who is held responsible.
Here is an incident that shows a near-miss situation where the alert bus driver saved a motorcycle by swerving his bus. Here is what happened.
This incident took place in Kerala but the exact road and location are not known. The video has been recorded by a CCTV camera that was facing the road. The video shows a single-lane road, which is very common in Kerala.
The road seems to be going through a market and the video shows a few other motorists crossing it without any problem. The road is, however, very wet.
The video shows a motorcycle rider at a good speed hitting a puddle of water and losing his balance. He falls down on the road while a private bus following closely enters the frame. The alert bus driver, who saw the motorcycle rider fall down applied the brakes immediately and changed the direction of the bus to ensure that he does not overrun the rider.
The bus driver successfully avoids the motorist but since it is a wet surface, the bus starts to slide and the rear wheel of the bus comes extremely close to the motorcycle rider. People can be spotted trying to get the motorcycle free from the rear tyre of the bus, which could have been a disaster for the motorcycle rider if the alert bus driver did not spot him in time and did not change the direction of the bus.
During the wet road conditions, the traction goes down and it takes longer distance than usual to slow down or come to a complete stop. This is why it is always recommended to slow down when it rains. Also, heavy vehicles like bus and truck have a much higher momentum than small vehicles and two-wheelers because of their weight. This is why they take a longer distance to slow down or come to a complete stop compared to small vehicles.
It is always advised to drive away from such heavy vehicles and maintain a good distance from such vehicles. Also, such heavy vehicles have a lot of blind spots and if you ride or drive your vehicle close to the heavy vehicles, it is quite possible that they would not be able to spot you at all.
Written By – Shantonil Nag, Source – Cartoq.